


Between a rock and a hard place

by fromthedeskoftheraven



Category: The Hobbit (Jackson Movies), The Hobbit - J. R. R. Tolkien
Genre: F/M, Kissing, Light Angst, Making Out, Sexual Tension
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2016-02-19
Updated: 2016-02-19
Packaged: 2018-05-21 21:51:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,568
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/6059377
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/fromthedeskoftheraven/pseuds/fromthedeskoftheraven
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Adrenaline turns to kisses in the rain for Kili and the company's hired archer.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Between a rock and a hard place

I blame the wizard.

It’s been seven years, now, I’ve been working as an archer for hire. There are only so many honest ways a woman can make a living, and I’ve been shooting with a bow since I was big enough to hold one, so it just made sense, when my Da died and left me on my own at sixteen. Usually, my employers are dignitaries, rich merchants, anyone with more money than fighting skill, but I’ve never experienced anything quite like traveling with the company of Thorin Oakenshield. I’m only here because Gandalf assured me that there was good pay in it, and that I was just the person the dwarves needed.

So, at times like these, when I’m wet, exhausted, seeing things even I thought were merely the stuff of legends, and narrowly escaping death has become a commonplace occurrence, I blame the wizard.

I could scarcely believe my own senses when the mountains came to life and began trying to kill each other, and us with them. Those chaotic moments seemed like an eternity of being battered and tossed helplessly about, clinging with all my strength to a massive, angry hunk of rock and wondering if this blur of thunderclouds and granite and the flailing limbs of my companions would be the last thing I’d ever see. 

When it was all over, and Thorin had fished our burglar back onto the ledge where we were collapsed in relief, I wasn’t tired anymore, or even frightened. I felt exhilarated, as though every nerve in my body was humming with energy. So when Thorin ordered Kili and me to go ahead and scout for shelter, I bounced to my feet, feeling as if I could run to the top of the mountain and back and still be able to do it again. As I always say, there’s nothing like nearly dying to make you feel alive.

Kili is the other archer in the group – though, in fairness, Thorin’s not bad with a bow – so I spend much of my time with him. Not that I mind…he’s a good shot, and even better company, always cheerful and quick to laugh. Nice to look at, too, and I confess to indulging in my fair share of flirtatious banter, but he gives as good as he gets, so we pair well together.

Our close call seemed to have had the same invigorating effect on Kili, and we chattered excitedly as we quickly climbed the steep path, exchanging the missing pieces of the story, since we’d ended up on opposing sides of the stone giants’ brawl. We hadn’t gone but an arrow’s shot from the company when we rounded a bend and spied an opening that looked to be a cave in the rock ahead, just a few feet off of the track.

I turned to look at him. “What do you think?”

“I think it’s better than standing out here in the rain,” he grinned.

Still, I hesitated. Only the gods knew what further dangers these mountains might harbor. “And if there’s something inside that wants to kill us?”

“Then I’ll protect you,” he teased, and I rolled my eyes.

“Don’t trouble yourself, I’ll be busy protecting you.”

He laughed, his eyes twinkling at me, and I reached to swipe away a wet strand of hair that clung to his face. Some sudden, foolish impulse made me rest my palm, ever so briefly, on his stubbled cheek, but as I moved to take my hand away, his larger one quickly encircled my wrist. I watched his hand as it opened, spreading itself over my own, pressing it once again to his face. Those soulful brown eyes looked deep into mine, and my heart thumped almost painfully in my chest as his gaze darted between my eyes and my lips.

I’ll never know who moved first. I only knew that his mouth was on mine, and that suddenly, none of it mattered…the rain, the giants, the quest, the wizard…suddenly, we may as well have been the only two people in the world, and my only conscious thought was of being as close to him as I could be. 

Kili’s kisses were sweet and playful, just like I had imagined, nibbling, teasing, smiling. But there was hot blood in him, too, and the more we kissed, the more insistently his lips crushed themselves against mine, the palm of his strong hand on my back holding me tightly to him. 

I pushed his hood off of his head, tangling my fingers in his wet hair, tasting the rain on his lips, and his other hand came to rest on my neck. His thumb tilted my chin upward as his mouth moved to feast on the sensitive skin just beneath my jawline. The warm, slick caresses of his eager suckling at my pulse point sent pleasant tingles radiating all through me, making me silently curse the heavy layers of cloaks and coats and tunics and trousers between us.

“Oh, Kili,” I sighed, my voice a breathless chuckle, “if you keep on like that, I’ll be begging you to take me right here.”

He gave a small moan against my throat that reverberated in my chest, making my legs go weak, and then…

“So this is what you call searching for shelter.” A gruff voice spoke in a biting tone. 

The falling rain and the drumming of our heartbeats had muffled Thorin’s footsteps until he stood close at hand. Kili flinched away from me as though he’d been stung, and I dropped my eyes to the ground to avoid his uncle’s stormy gaze, trying to master my ragged breathing.

“Kili, wait for me in the mouth of the cave. You,” he turned curtly on me. “A word.”

Kili glanced nervously at me as he walked quickly away and disappeared into the crevice in the rock. Thorin moved close to me, contemplating me with plain annoyance, not sparing a thought for the rain that trickled in rivulets down his face and mine. 

“Must I remind you that your purpose on this quest is not to seduce my men?”

Bristling at the accusation, I flung back, “if that was seduction, it didn’t require much effort on my part.”

“Oh, I will be speaking to Kili as well, make no mistake. As for you,” he pointed his finger scoldingly, “stay away from him. From all of them. I am not paying you to be a distraction.”

“You believe that one-fifteenth share of the profit makes you the master even of my desire?” I asked defiantly.

His lips curved into a smirk. “When you have laid eyes upon the treasure hoard of Erebor, I think you will agree that it does.” He stared me down for a moment, then continued, his voice low, but firm. “Now…go back and rejoin the company. I will scout the cave with Kili.”

I hesitated for a moment, mainly for effect – he knew as well as I did that I had no choice – before hoisting my bow to my shoulder and, with one last mutinous look, trudging back down the path.

We all piled into the cave, which was cold and cheerless, but dry enough. I held my breath in dread of being assigned the first watch, but Bofur was the unlucky one, so I looked around for a place to get some sleep. Thorin kept a sharp eye on me, clearly making certain that I didn’t end up anywhere near his nephew, and I glared at him as I laid out my bedroll on the far end of the little grotto and flopped down, with only the aching need Kili had awakened in me for company.

When everyone was settled, Thorin bedded down on my side of the cave, like some sort of guard dog. What did he think I was going to do, ravish Kili in the middle of the night with the whole company as witnesses? 

Although, now I thought of it…never mind. Not helpful. 

I took deep, calming breaths to compose myself to sleep, though I still grumbled inwardly about our leader being as tightly wound as one of my Da’s old, tangled fishing reels. It occurred to me with a snicker that if anyone in the company would benefit from the attentions of a woman, it was the would-be king himself. Of course, _I_  had no plans to volunteer.

Soon, our shelter was filled with the soft snores of the dwarves, and I lay on my back, staring at the craggy ceiling, when movement in the tail of my eye caught my attention. I propped myself on my elbow to look, and saw, in the dim torchlight, a head of tousled, dark hair raised above its sleeping neighbors. 

Kili gave me a mischievous grin, and after a quick glance at Thorin’s slumbering form, I answered him with a grin of my own. He mouthed, “sorry,” and I shrugged, still smiling. With a lift of his eyebrows, he winked at me and lay back down, and I bit my lip to stifle a soft laugh, resting my head once again on my folded-up cloak. A little thrill ran through my body as my fingers strayed to the tender spot on my neck where Kili’s lips had dallied. Perhaps eventually, with a bit of luck, we’d be able to finish what we started after all.


End file.
